World alarm Clock !

• China and Russia veto a United States drafted United Nations Security Council Resolution that would have urged the government of Myanmar to stop human rights abuses and the repression of political opposition. (Reuters AlertNet) (LA Times)
• Terri Irwin, widow of naturalist and TV personality Steve Irwin, reports that all footage of his death from a stingray piercing his heart has been destroyed, and the events surrounding his death will not be shown in his final documentary, Ocean's Deadliest. (Access Hollywood)
• The Chinese Foreign Ministry warns it has intelligence indicating East Turkestan Islamic Movement terrorists will launch an attack against China from Kyrgyzstan. Security personnel along the border between the two countries is increased. (RFE/RL)
• United States armed forces raid the office of the Iranian Consulate General in Arbil, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan. (The New York Times)
• Fakhruddin Ahmed becomes the new Chief Advisor in Bangladesh amid the current political crisis. (USA Today)
• Terrorists fire an anti-tank missile at the Embassy of the United States in Athens. No one is injured or killed. (BBC) (CNN)
• Somali government and Ethiopian forces capture the town of Ras Kamboni, and pursue fleeing Islamist forces. (AP)
• An Argentinian judge issues an arrest warrant for former president Isabel Martínez de Perón, implicated in the disappearance of a human-rights activist in 1976. Perón has been living in Spain since 1981. (BBC)
• Casino Royale and The Queen lead this year's BAFTA film award nominations. (BBC)
• Liberal MP Jean Lapierre resigns from the Canadian House of Commons. Justin Trudeau is likely to be the Liberals' candidate in the next election in the Outremont riding. (London Free Press)
• 2006–2007 Bangladeshi political crisis: Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed steps down as interim leader just hours after declaring a state of emergency and a curfew in the country. (BBC)
• Austria's new government is sworn in under Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) and Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer (ÖVP). (The International Herald Tribune)
• Kazakhstan political shakeup of 2007: Foreign Minister Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is appointed Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan. If aging President Nursultan Nazarbayev dies, according to the Constitution, Tokayev would become President. Some analysts say this is a sign that Tokayev, and not one of Nazarbayev's politically active daughters, is his desired successor. (News.com.au)
• War in Somalia:
  • A top U.S. official says that he believes the airstrike in Somalia yesterday failed to kill the al-Qaeda suspects they targeted. (BBC)
• In the ongoing Operation Mountain Fury, NATO forces kill as many as 150 Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Paktika province. (BBC)

• The U.S. Defense Department reports that United States Department of Defense contractors, while traveling through Canada, have had Canadian coins with radio transmitters inside planted on them by unknown people. The transmitters could be used to track the locations of the contractors. (The Associated Press)
• Pieces of wreckage and a body are recovered from the missing Adam Air flight 574. (The Daily Telegraph)

January 10, 2007 (Wednesday) edit history watch

U.S. President George W. Bush announces, in a televised address, his strategy change in response to Iraq Study Group criticisms. This will involve a surge of 21,500 more troops to fight in the War in Iraq. (CNN) The Tajik Parliament approves a Memorandum of Understanding between Tajikistan and Iran agreeing to begin a nuclear program with assistance from the Iranian government in building a power plant. Tajikistan is the second nation in Central Asia to pursue a nuclear program, the other being Kazakhstan. (IRNA) Kazakhstan political shakeup of 2007: Karim Masimov is confirmed by the Parliament of Kazakhstan as Prime Minister. Massimov appoints his former superior and political rival Daniyal Akhmetov to Defense Minister and Economy Minister Aslan Musin to Deputy Prime Minister. (IHT) Sudan adopts a new currency; the Sudanese pound replaces the Sudanese dinar. The change is part of reconciliation measures after the end of the Second Sudanese Civil War. (E Canada Now) Mirsad Bektašević, a 19-year-old Swedish citizen of Bosnian descent, is convicted of terrorism-related charges by a court in Sarajevo and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. (Reuters) (The Local) War in Somalia: Somali official says that a senior al-Qaeda suspect responsible for bombing U.S. embassies in East Africa eight years ago is possibly killed in a U.S. airstrike. (AP via ABC News) (CNN) (CBS) Two Squirrel helicopters collide at RAF Ternhill in Shropshire, UK, killing one and injuring two others. (BBC News) Iranian news agency reports a UFO has crashed in the Kerman province. (Fars News Agency) India launches four satellites at a time with their PSLV-C7 rocket, including the SRE-1 test article, which will return to Earth in a test for a future Indian manned spaceflight program. (Reuters) The European Commission announces proposals for the EU to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 and 60% by 2050 in order to mitigate global warming. (BBC News) Following the 2006 general election, Daniel Ortega becomes the new President of Nicaragua, replacing Enrique Bolaños. (CBS) The Social Democratic Party of Austria, the future majority partner in the grand coalition government that will be sworn in in Austria on January 11, 2007, announces its future ministers. (Gulf Times) Start of the 12th ASEAN Summit and 2nd East Asia Summit in Metro Cebu, Philippines. Meetings involve heads of the 10 member states and 6 dialogue partners with major discussions on relevance, diplomacy, security, economy and free trade and other important global issues. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

January 9, 2007 (Tuesday) edit history watch

YouTube is unblocked in Brazil as a São Paulo state court revises its ruling for Daniela Cicarelli video clips. (Reuters) North Korea and weapons of mass destruction: A top U.S. general says that he believes North Korea may conduct another nuclear test in the future. (AP via ABC News) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calls for closer international co-operation against a nuclear North Korea. (BBC News) Sathya Priya, an Iranian legislator, announces the arrest of an alleged spy and suspected member of the Mujahedin-e Khalq. Tavakoli said the man leaked information about Iran's nuclear program. (RFE/RL) Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev nominates Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov for Prime Minister. The Parliament will convene on 10 January to vote on the nomination. (UPI) The ÖVP, the future minority partner in the grand coalition government that will be sworn in in Austria on 2007-01-11, announces its future ministers. (IHT) The European Parliament undergoes mid-term changes in advance of its first 2007 session: Far right parliamentarians increase their influence within the European Parliament by founding a new transnational caucus. (EUObserver) Alsatian farmer Joseph Daul, an MEP from France's UMP party, is elected chairman of the largest caucus in the European Parliament, EPP–ED. He succeeds Hans-Gert Pöttering, widely anticipated to be elected President of the European Parliament next week. (EUX.TV) Hindu holy men in India threaten to boycott the Ganges River Festival because of pollution. (AP via ABC News) CIA Kidnap case: Hearings begin in Italy on whether to charge 25 CIA agents with kidnapping for the "extraordinary rendition" of Osama Nasr in 2003. The named agents have left the country. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News) Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone and changes the company name to Apple Inc. at the annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco. (Bloomberg) (CNN) (Wired News) (InfoWorld)

January 8, 2007 (Monday) edit history watch

The United States Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal of Gilmore v. Gonzales, which was a challenge to travel papers and secret laws. (USAToday) (PapersPlease) An unknown odor persists in Manhattan, New York and Jersey City, New Jersey throughout much of the day, resulting in the evacuation of several high-rise buildings and the temporary shutdown of PATH train service under the Hudson River. (CNN)(Prison Planet) Russian oil supplies to Poland, Germany, and Ukraine are cut as the Russia-Belarus energy dispute escalates. (BBC) It is reported that Chinese police killed 18 members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement organization and arrested 17 others in a raid in the Pamir Plateau on 5 January. ETIM members shot and killed one officer and wounded another. Police found 22 grenades and enough explosive material to make 1,500 more. (Xinhua) (USA Today) (BBC) War in Somalia: A U.S. AC-130 gunship attacks Al Qaeda operatives during the ongoing fighting in the Battle of Ras Kamboni (CNN) Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Somalia's interim President, arrives in the capital, Mogadishu, his first visit since Mujahideen forces of the Islamic Courts Union fled advancing Ethiopian troops and interim government soldiers. (BBC) Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov unexpectedly resigns without explanation. Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Akhmetov's longtime rival, is expected to replace him. (Bloomberg) (BBC) SPÖ and ÖVP agree on a coalition government after the October 2006 Austrian elections. Both parties will get an equal share of ministers with the SPÖ's Alfred Gusenbauer set to become Chancellor of Austria, and the ÖVP has had more success in implementing their demands in the coalition agreement. The government will be sworn in on 11 January. (Bloomberg) (BBC) Indonesian naval ships discover large metal objects off the west coast of Sulawesi that could possibly be the wreckage of Adam Air Flight 574 missing a week ago. (BBC) (CNN) The Principality of Sealand, a micronation off the English coast, is put up for sale. (The Times) Mounir El Motassadeq is sentenced by a court in Hamburg, Germany to 15 years in jail for his role in the planning of the September 11, 2001 attacks. (BBC) The discovery of the first example of a "triple quasar" is announced at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle. (BBC) Chicago Alderman Arenda Troutman is arrested by the FBI and charged with accepting a bribe from a federal informant as part of an undercover investigation. (Chicago Sun Times) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chooses Patti Smith, R.E.M., Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, the Ronettes, and Van Halen as 2007 inductees. (Reuters) (Billboard) (Detroit Free Press) (CBC)

January 7, 2007 (Sunday) edit history watch

Newly appointed Archbishop Stanisław Wojciech Wielgus, of Warsaw resigns after Friday's allegations that he collaborated with the Polish communist government's secret police. He was due to be officially appointed by Pope Benedict XVI at 10:00 GMT, and announced his decision only one hour before. (Reuters) (BBC News) At least 17 prisoners are killed in riots in a maximum security jail in Santa Ana, El Salvador, after convicted members of the Mara 18 gang fight with a security guard, leading to trouble throughout the jail. (BBC News) War in Somalia: Somali gunmen open fire at Ethiopian troops stationed in Somalia's capital Mogadishu resulting in at least one death. (Reuters) (AP via ABC News) Fighting breaks out between Somali protesters and Ethiopian troops in the town of Beledweyne after an official is arrested for refusing to hand over a member of the ousted Islamic Courts Union. Three people are reportedly injured. (BBC) The executions of two senior accomplices of former leader Saddam Hussein are expected to be carried out within this week according to Iraqi officials. (BBC) 2006–2007 Bangladeshi political crisis: A nationwide blockade led by the Awami League to force electoral reform before the 2007 parliamentary election continues for a third day, bringing capital Dhaka to a standstill, with schools shut and vehicles absent from the streets. (BBC) Fangoria Comics acquires the 1960s cult character Vampirella from Harris Publications. (Newsarama)